A Loveless Marriage
by Aisling03
Summary: Leaving the love of your life to marry a stranger is not the easiest thing to do. But when the peace of the world depends on it, what else can you do?
1. Prologue

A Loveless Marriage

Kuchiki Rukia sat in the dimly lit room as she waited for her husband on their wedding night. She was the princess of the Ruby Kingdom, and was now the queen of the Silver Kingdom for she had married the king of the Silver Kingdom. It was a condition in the peace treaty that had kept the two kingdoms from war.

Memories of the past began forming in Rukia's head as she waited for her king. She remembered her red-haired childhood friend, Abarai Renji. "Renji…" Rukia whispered the name of the man she had once loved. And with that one word, unwanted memories began flooding her mind.

*Flashbacks*

"Rukia, let's leave this place. We can go to the Emerald Kingdom and start a new life there. It's a great distance from here and King Kuchiki won't be able to find us. We can start a family of our own, have our own children, and…"

"Renji, enough!" Rukia abruptly interrupted Renji before he could continue. "Renji… I… I can't run away with you…" Rukia sobbed.

For a moment, both Rukia and Renji were quiet. They didn't know what to say to each other to make the situation better. Silence grew thick in the dark atmosphere of the Ruby Forest, suffocating the two young lovers. Rukia broke the silence first.

"I'm sorry, Renji. I made up my mind to marry the King of the Silver Kingdom." And with that, Rukia was gone, leaving Renji standing alone in the once again silent forest.

*end of flashback*

"Suck it up, Rukia," Rukia told herself as she wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes. Rukia had accepted her fate as queen of the Silver Kingdom and wife of a man who she did not love.

There was a knock on the door, halting Rukia's movement. Rukia held her breath as she prepared to see her husband for the first time. What does the king look like? Is he old or young? What kind of person is he? Will he like her when he sees her? Thoughts like these flooded her mind as she waited for the door to open. When the door didn't open, Rukia remembered that she didn't give her permission for the person on the other side of the door to enter. "Come in," Rukia yelled out.

The door opened and came a little boy with white hair and green eyes. "My name is Hitsugaya Toshiro. Welcome to the Silver Kingdom."

Rukia stared at the boy in front her, speechless. "You have got to be kidding me. My husband is a kid?" Rukia thought to herself.


	2. Chapter 1

A Loveless Marriage: Chapter 1

The thought of marrying someone much younger than her left Rukia dumbfounded. Rukia may only be 20 years old but the boy standing in front of her appeared to be 12 years old, at most. Then Rukia remembered something. Kurosaki was the family name of the ruler of the Silver Kingdom. The boy said his surname was Hitsugaya.

Rukia let out a sigh of relief. "Hi. I'm Kuchiki Rukia. What's up?" Maybe not the classiest introduction for a queen but Rukia had no idea what else to say to the white-haired boy.

Toshiro gave the woman in front of him a long stare before saying, "I'm one of the king's adviser." There was another long pause.

"What is it?" Those three words were filled with suspicions.

"I'm sorry but the king won't be able to join you tonight. But if you need anything, please let me know." Toshiro could feel the tension in the room the moment he finished his sentence. The black-haired woman, still seated uncomfortably on the bed, was definitely not happy.

"What a great man my husband is, abandoning his wife on their wedding night." Rukia sarcastically said.

"The king has a lot of court matters to attend to. Please understand." Toshiro couldn't wait to get the heck out of the room.

"Yea, sure he does." Rukia was upset. Their marriage may not be out of love but it didn't mean he could disrespect her by not showing up on their wedding night.

"My lady, I have to go now. But please ask if you need anything." And with that, Toshiro was gone, leaving Rukia alone in a room that is too large for one petite woman to have all to herself.

...

Kurosaki Ichigo was supposed to be with his newly wedded bride tonight, but the woman next to him was a different woman. Ichigo stared blankly at the ceiling as he relaxed in his beds with his arms wrapped around his lover. He was thinking about his "wife", a woman he had never met before. It wasn't his choice to marry her but all of his court advisers had pushed for this marriage, which would promote peace for his kingdom.

Ichigo knew nothing about his wife, only the fact that her name was Kuchiki Rukia and she was the princess of the Ruby Kingdom. He was supposed to meet her tonight but he never showed up. He felt bad about it but what was he supposed to do when he already had a lover? Was he supposed to forget about the woman he loved?

Ichigo let out a long sigh and turned his head to look at the orange-haired woman cuddled up in his arms.

"What are you thinking about?" the woman asked.

"My marriage," Ichigo responded.

"Your marriage… right." The woman seemed to be having a hard time with her words. "Ummm, so are you going to see her tonight?"

"And why would I do that?" Ichigo looked at the woman as if she was crazy to have asked that.

"Maybe because she's your wife?" The woman's smile that was there just a moment ago evaporated. Ichigo noticed the worry look on his lover's face.

"Orihime, it doesn't matter if I'm married to her. The person I love is you. And only you will be my queen." He reassured her.

Ichigo had known Orihime Inoue since they were kids and he grew up believing that she would be the one he would marry. The thought of having to marry someone else frustrated him. He was a king and kings should be able to marry whoever they want and make their loved ones happy. But when he looked at Orihime, all he saw was despair.

"You already have a queen. You can't have two queens, Ichigo," Orihime said.

"I'm a king and I will do what I want. Kuchiki Rukia will be my queen for now. But she won't be in the future. I will make sure of that."


End file.
